11 Months!

Leah turns 11 months today!  Here are some updates:

• 29.5 inches, 19 lbs
• Top left tooth is breaking through
• Hates eating yogurt melts; loves oatmeal, pasta, bananas. Has started to spit food out if she doesn't like it.
• Will look at Matt when I ask her "Where's dada?"
• Head-butts me when I say "kiss kiss" {she's actually been doing this for a couple months now}
• Knows to give me her binky after she wakes up
• High 5s
• Very careful and cautious. Before Leah, I always pictured us having to chase a crazy baby around in order to prevent them from hurting themselves.  Leah, however, is very cautious.  Before she makes a move in new surroundings, she scans the area, makes sure mom and dad are around, and either very slowly moves or just sits there if she's unsure.  

Leah: Thank you for being such a happy baby.  You're full of smiles and giggles.  When we put you to bed for the night, you wave good night to us.  When we wake you up, you greet us with a smile and another wave.  It totally makes my heart melt.  You're personality is coming out a lot stronger now.  You're focused and know what you want.  When you don't get what you want, you let mommy and daddy know very quickly and loudly.  It makes me a little nervous to see what your teenage years are going to be like.  While it's so much fun watching you grow up, I wouldn't mind if you stayed a baby just a little longer.  You change so much everyday!  We love you!!!  Happy 11 months!!  xoxo

In Love

Just saw this Ace & Jig coat and love it!  Our East Coast trip totally got me in the Fall mood even though we came back home to 90 degree weather!  Now only if it wasn't $398, although it is 2 coats in 1...

Sneak Peek: East Coast Trip

We've been in Philly, New Jersey, and New York the past week.  It's been so much fun seeing these cities through the eyes of our little girl.  Will post more pictures soon!

In the Picture

I just finished reading this Huffington Post article that I got from hellobee.  It's perfect timing, because I slightly refer to how I'm never really in any of the pictures in this post.  I'm usually never in the picture because I'm taking the photo, and also because I know people are more interested in seeing Leah.  Today, however, Matt made it a point to take a couple pictures today with me in them!  Hopefully, we keep it up.  Here you go! 

In our robes at our amazing hotel (will post soon on this).  The mini robe was so cute!

Food Update

Leah has been a lot more opinionated in terms of what she eats.  She's not necessarily a picky eater, but depending on her mood, she will choose whether she'll eat what you give her or not.  Some things I've noticed:

• She loves carbs.  That must run in the family.  If we give her bread at the beginning of her meal at a restaurant, she will often refuse to eat anything else afterwards.  Faced with picking up bread or pasta vs. meat she'll pick around the meat and go for the carb sometimes.  That does not run in the family.

• She no longer wants baby food.  Puffs, yogurt melts, and purees are not her favorite, and she will pick around those items on her tray too.  She still loves Mum-Mums though.  This makes going out to eat a little easier.  I no longer have to worry about packing all her food in my diaper bag.  I share with her a bit of whatever I'm eating. 

• She wants to feed herself.  If I try to spoon feed her, she'll close her mouth or turn her head.  The minute I put the food on her tray, she'll gladly pick it up and eat it.  This usually results in a big mess everywhere.  {See picture above}

Everyday is definitely an adventure at meal time!

Newport Beach

I feel like we've slept in hotel beds more than our own bed lately and we haven't even done the big trips yet.  Last week, we were in Newport Beach for a couple days {another work trip for Matt}.  We stayed at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa.  The hotel is a little older and the rooms were on the small side, but I liked the fact that they used a pack and play for our crib.  Leah rolls around so much in her sleep, that she often hits her head when she sleeps in those metal bar cribs in hotels, and I cringe when I hear that *thud*.  The pack and play is a lot softer, and, another plus, is that the hotel even supplied the fitted sheet for the mat!  Many hotels just use a regular bed sheet which is so large that it bulks up underneath the mat.

I have learned never to go to Orange County without taking advantage of my free babysitters - the grandparents.  I dropped Leah off for the afternoon, and headed out for an Asian food adventure with a friend.  First stop, SWSH Shabu Shabu.  SWSH is in the perfect location at Diamond Jamboree in Irvine. The center has pretty much every type of Asian food you can think of, but because of that it is often a mad house.  The food was fresh and high quality.  We first got the lunch Angus ribeye special, but ended up wanting more meat, so we added an extra order of meat.  The service was great.  Since we're not Shabu Shabu experts, our waitress seasoned our soup for us, and after we were done with the meat, she used our veggies and udon noodles to make meal #2!  Yum!

Right below SWSH is the famous 85 Degree bakery.  I've never gone here because usually there is a line out the door and I'm not willing to wait.  Since it was the weekday, the line was minimal and we tried it out.  My friend recommended the Rose Cheese bread and Sea Salt Green Tea drink and both did not disappoint!  While I wouldn't say 85 Degree is worth a long wait, it's definitely a must try.

Close to my parent's house is a 99 Ranch market.  There isn't one close to my house, so I made a special trip here to pick up boba milk tea ice cream pops!   It tastes exactly like boba milk tea and is a perfect treat for this crazy hot weather!! 

The OC

The weekend before my birthday we were in Huntington Beach.  Matt had a work event, and we stayed at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa.  What a great place for a family!  The rooms are large, and they provided us with a little baby care package of Johnson and Johnson body wash, shampoo, lotion, and baby powder!  I wish I knew that ahead of time since that would be a few less items to pack.  The resort is pretty massive {as in I got lost a couple times trying to get back to the room}.  There are plenty of restaurant options from nice romantic restaurants to a casual pizza joint.  In the morning, while Matt was in his meeting, Leah and I were able to just walk down to the coffee shop, sit outside, and eat breakfast and soak up the sun.  

My version of a family photo...Matt, Leah, my feet.

The resort has an amazing pool area!  Since Leah is obsessed with being in the water now, it's been so fun taking her to the pool.  There are several different pool options including one with 2 water slides!  Matt enjoyed taking Leah down the slide over and over again. 

The best part of going to Orange County is being able to visit my parents!  They happily babysat while I got to spend some time with my girlfriend.  We went to Snow Station in Westminster for shaved ice.  This isn't your regular shaved ice shop.  The ice is flavored and has a creamy consistency to it.  AMAZING!  The picture definitely doesn't do it justice, but we gobbled this guy up.  We got green tea and rose flavors with green tea mochi and lychee.  I'm craving it as I type this. 

P.S. Happy Monday!